About William Alexander Henry:
William Alexander Henry was a Father of Confederation. He attended all three Confederation conferences and became an ardent supporter of Confederation after the Charlottetown conference. After Confederation, William Alexander Henry became Mayor of Halifax and was later appointed to the new Supreme Court of Canada.
Confederation Conferences Attended:
- Charlottetown Conference 1864
- Quebec Conference 1864
- London Conference 1866
Birth and Death:
- Born December 30, 1816 in Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Died May 3, 1888 in Ottawa, Ontario
Profession:
Lawyer, judge
Political Affiliation:
- Liberal 1840-1857, 1870-88
- Conservative 1857-70
Riding (Electoral District):
Antigonish (Nova Scotia)
Career of William Alexander Henry:
- William Alexander Henry was first elected to the Nova Scotia assembly as a Liberal in the riding of Antigonish in 1840.
- Defeated in 1843, William Alexander Henry was re-elected in 1847 when he supported responsible government.
- In 1852, William Alexander Henry became minister without portfolio and in 1854 he was appoiinted Solicitor General.
- He was appointed Provincial Secretary in 1856. A year later, William Alexander Henry resigned from cabinet over the dismissal of William Condon from the port of Halifax, an issue which caused the defection of many Catholics from the Liberal party. Ten days later the Liberal government was defeated on a non-confidence motion.
- William Alexander Henry switched to the Conservative party and was re-elected in 1859, a month after joining the Conservative cabinet as Solicitor General.
- In 1864, William Alexander Henry became Attorney General.
- William Alexander Henry attended all three Confederation conferences. Although he had not been particularly interested in the idea of Confederation before the Charlottetown Conference, he became an ardent supporter after the conference and actively promoted Confederation in Nova Scotia. It is often said that he helped draft the British North America Act.
- William Alexander Henry ran in the federal election in 1867, but was defeated. He returned to the practice of law.
- In 1870, William Alexander Henry was elected Mayor of Halifax. He also switched his political allegiance back to the Liberal party, officialy because of the Pacific Scandal, but just as much because he had not been appointed a judge by the Conservatives.
- In 1975, William Alexander Henry was appointed to the new Supreme Court of Canada.
